How To Pakistan

Spencer Ackerman talks to How to Pakistan about President-Elect Donald Trump and the world awaiting us. Ackerman is national security editor for Guardian US. Ackerman was part of the Guardian team that won the 2014 Pulitzer prize for public service journalism. A former senior writer for Wired, he won the 2012 National Magazine Award for digital reporting. He tweets at @attackerman.

Imran Khan announced the cancellation of Islamabad Lockdown whilst we were recording this episode. Interruptus indeed. Join us.

The PTI lockdown of Islamabad is imminent. The only people against locking down the capital city are corrupt, pro Nawaz Sharif evil doers. Join Fasi and Mosharraf as they try to analyze the evil.

Ahsan I. Butt is an Assistant Professor at the Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University. His main research interests lie in nationalism, international security, and South Asia. He is currently writing a book on separatist violence. In this episode we discuss civ mil disequilibrium, PM Sharif's failures, and the history, present and future of Kashmir. Join us! http://schar.gmu.edu/faculty-staff/faculty/ahsan-butt/

As newsroom and social media warriors take the rhetorical battle to new lows, How to Pakistan will continue striving to find higher roads for a region and peoples that the world should expect more from. Today we talk to the UK Royal United Services Institute's Shashank Joshi. Shashank is a prolific writer and analyst and one of the sharpest India watchers in the West. His profile: https://rusi.org/people/joshi

After the Uri attack in Kashmir, many in India have called for punitive military measures by India. Among the people who think that strategic restraint is an outdated and losing proposition for India, is Wall Street Journal columnist, Sadanand Dhume. Join us as we discuss the viability of war, and the possibilities for peace.

23 Pakistanis killed by a suicide bomber in Mohmand Agency MQM leader Khawaja Izhar arrested in Karachi Arresting SSP Rao Anwar suspended for the arrest Pakhtuns, Mohairs, Pakistanis of all colors, all shapes and all sizes, aggrieved. Welcome to How to Pakistan

We wish all our listeners a very happy Eid! Eid ul Adha Mubarak! In this episode we discuss our own experiences of Eid ul Adha, or Bakra Eid. We also talk about Abraham, the consumption of beef and the compulsion to eat certain kinds of meat, or not. Join us! And once again, Eid Mubarak!

China is the everything-all-the-time old new thing (and new old thing) in Pakistan. Andrew Small is the Senior Transatlantic Fellow at the German Marshall Fund in Washington DC. His book, The China-Pakistan Axis: Asia's New Geopolitics, is a widely acclaimed reading of the complex and oft-misunderstood strategic alliance between Pakistan and China. Join us as we discuss all things China with a China expert that has specialized his study of that country through the lens of Pakistan. We talk about Yao Ming, about the leadership dynamic in Beijing under President Xi Jinping, and best of all? We keep our promise of not talking about CPEC! Andrew's book: http://www.andrewsmall.org/the-book/

In this episode we discuss the Orlando shooting in which fifty were killed by a man named Omar Saddiqi Mateen, an American of Afghan origin.

In this episode we discuss the health of the prime minister, and some related issues. Join us! (We apologize for the low sound quality).

University of Oklahoma professor Aqil Shah is the author of "The Army & Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan", and more recently of a Washington Post oped titled, "Drone blowback in Pakistan is a myth. Here's why". Three days after his oped was published, Taliban leader Mullah Mansour Akhtar was killed in a drone attack in Pakistan. The drone debate is open again. Fasi and Mosharraf talk to Dr. Shah about his research on drone strikes, the concept of nationalism, the quality of public discourse, and in true How to Pakistan tradition, identity. Join us! "Drone blowback in Pakistan is a myth. Here's why." - by Aqil Shah, Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2016/05/17/drone-blow-back-in-pakistan-is-a-myth-heres-why/ "The Army & Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan" - by Aqil Shah, Harvard University Press http://www.hup.harvard.edu/catalog.php?isbn=9780674728936

Note: This episode contains substantial portions in Urdu (and some sparse sprinklings of Pashto). In Episode 04 of Season 02 Fasi and Mosharraf discuss the life and times of Saleem Safi, one of Pakistan's most compelling journalistic voices. He describes his life's journey, his evolution as a journalist, the role of the Islami Jamiat e Talbaa in shaping him, the illusion of Islamism, and the humility that everyone should invest it, whenever and however they can. A fascinating conversation with a fascinating man. Join us!

On Episodes 02 and 03, we are joined by journalist and television anchor Ejaz Haider, currently the Editor for National Security Affairs at Capital TV. The first part of the conversation is about the mutual love for guns that is shared by Ejaz Haider and Fasi Zaka - which leads to exchanges about arms licenses in Pakistan, the overall licensing regime, and broader issues of police reform. This fascinating conversation continues in Episode 03.

On Episodes 02 and 03, we are joined by journalist and television anchor Ejaz Haider, currently the Editor for National Security Affairs at Capital TV. The second part of the conversation is about the transition from print to broadcast, the Deo-Salafist movement, the evolution of the Jamaat e Islami, civilian-military relations and the enormous powers of the Pakistan Army, and hand (or grass)-fed organic narratives. This is the second of a two-episode conversation with Ejaz Haider. The first was Episode 2 of Season 2.

Previously, on How to Pakistan... Fasi and Mosharraf started a podcast. People listened. Fasi and Mosharraf completed twenty episodes. Welcome to Season 2 of How to Pakistan. Join us as we attempt to explore the art of the Pakistani conversation.

The body count from the Easter Sunday bombing in Lahore now stands at seventy-two. Pakistan bleeds once again. Meanwhile, Islamabad's Red Zone continues to be occupied by pro-Qadri protestors demanding a long list of things. The republic stands guilty not only of failing to protect Christians (and Muslims, and all other nationals), but also of allowing the Red Zone to become a running joke. Join Fasi and Mosharraf for a conversation about the death and destruction in Lahore, and the mayhem in Islamabad.

The T20 World Cup in India was a disaster for the Pakistani men's cricket team. Not so for the women's team, or for New Zealand, West Indies, India or England. Join Mosharraf and Fasi as we dig into the ups and downs of the 2016 T20 World Cup with the great Osman Samiuddin as we try to understand what happened to the Pakistan men's team, and why it is an inferior cricket side. We also talk about one of Pakistan's great captains, the legendary Sana Mir.

In this episode we talk to Osman Samiuddin about the process of writing, and about being a writer. We talk some more about cricket, and learn about the depth and breadth of his knowledge of cricket history, and his love for Sheffield Wednesday. You can read Osman's book, The Unquiet Ones, by purchasing it, here: http://www.amazon.com/The-Unquiet-Ones-History-Pakistan/dp/9350298015 His epic piece on the "haal" of Pakistani cricket can be read at The Guardian website, here: http://www.theguardian.com/sport/the-nightwatchman/2014/nov/17/exploring-soul-pakistan-cricket-team-lazy-impatient-brilliant He writes regularly about all sports, including sailing, for The National, here: http://www.thenational.ae/authors/osman-samiuddin

Dr. Miftah Ismail is the Chairman of Pakistan's Board of Investment, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister and has the rank of a Minister of State (for investment). He is a Wharton PhD with a specialty in Public Finance and Political Economy. He is the former CEO of one of Pakistan's largest food and confectionary manufacturers. He has been a member of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's inner circle of advisers on the economy, investment and energy for the last six years. Mosharraf and Fasi engage with Dr Ismail on the state of the economy, the trouble with the Chicago School approach to economics, the challenge of reform, the low rate of economic growth, and the state of power and energy in Pakistan. Dr Ismail explains his views on how economies function, why Hayek and Von Mises are better than demand-siders on the Left, and what might happen in the 2018 election. The conversation offers an enlightening peek into the kind of talent that Pakistan has at its disposal within the public sector.